OPINION:
On an average day in the D.C. area, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s fleet of nearly 1,600 buses traverses 1,500 square miles of the nation’s capital. The visibility of these large vehicles to the more than 700,000 D.C. residents presents added revenue opportunities through paid advertisements on the sides of the buses.
To WMATA’s credit, selling this ad space is a great way to increase its revenue.
Unfortunately, however, WMATA accepts and rejects ads at the whim of its administrators and their notions of what is permissible or not.
WMATA’s discriminatory ad policy is so bad that a diverse combination of legal groups — the ACLU, First Liberty Institute, and the law firm Steptoe — have joined together to file a federal lawsuit against the organization after it rejected ads from a Christian organization.
WallBuilder Presentations provides resources detailing the history of Christianity in the founding of America. WallBuilders submitted ads for display on Metro buses featuring the iconic painting of George Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge and the Founders in Philadelphia with the caption: “Christian?” The ads included a QR code and web address for those interested in learning more.
But WMATA rejected the revenue opportunity, calling the ads “issue ad[s] that is intended to influence members of the public on an issue on which there are varying opinions.”
Even after WallBuilders resubmitted the ads after removing the word “Christian,” they were once again rejected. WMATA never identified the issue of public controversy that it believed the proposed advertisements addressed, so it is apparent that WallBuilders was prohibited from advertising because its proposed ads sought to address issues of public importance from a religious viewpoint.
WMATA’s decision is arbitrary, unlawful, and even inconsistent with its practices.
Indeed, WMATA permits advertisements for other organizations that promote other issues of contentious public debate. For example, WMATA allowed an ad for the musical “The Book of Mormon,” which harshly lampoons the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and religion in general, and includes songs spouting explicit and vulgar anti-religious lyrics.
Further, WMATA accepts ads promoting “Social Justice School” and Earth Day, and ads promoting term limits for Supreme Court justices — a hotly debated topic.
WMATA also permits advertisements on U.S. history and its fundamental principles, the very subjects that WallBuilders sought to address in its advertisements. WMATA recently ran advertisements for the PBS program “Iconic America.” The show “examines the history of America through some of its most iconic symbols, objects and places, diving deep into each symbol’s history and how its meaning has changed over time.”
While banishing one message, WMATA accepts a long list of advertising messages that violate its own guidelines. WMATA encourages customers to advertise in their Metrorail system because it “provides an opportunity to target business executives, federal employees, students, and tourists.” By denying WallBuilders that opportunity, they engage in unacceptable censorship.
Of course, limiting ad space to issues on which there are not varying opinions is virtually impossible. A college freshman majoring in advertising learns that the fundamental goal of all advertising is to communicate to the public a message that promotes the competitive benefits of one product or service over another with the goal of influencing action.
Influencing the public to take specific action was undeniably the purpose of the DC Health ads touting the reasons to get the COVID-19 vaccination, an issue that has witnessed substantial public controversy.
The First Amendment grants all Americans the right to express their point of view, religious or secular. When the government censors a message because it conveys a religious viewpoint, it violates the First Amendment.
Rejecting a faith-based advertising banner by labeling it an “issue ad” while accepting others is clearly hypocritical, discriminatory and illegal. WMATA must support the freedoms provided in the First Amendment rather than silence Americans through censorship and end its blatant hostility and discrimination.
• Jeremy Dys is senior counsel for the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom for all. Learn more at FirstLiberty.org.
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